Fuel Breaks Saved Lives During The Camp Fire. They Can Spare CA From Future Devastation

CalMatters Guest Commentary written by John Hawkins, a retired forestry worker and a Butte County volunteer firefighter.

CALIFORNIA — In the relentless battle against wildfires in California, it’s clear that agencies and landowners must prioritize and implement wildfire prevention measures while continuing to build and maintain firefighting resources.

Fuel breaks have emerged as an effective approach to wildfire suppression, and it’s vital these projects move forward expeditiously on private and public lands. If strategically placed, these areas of reduced vegetation can slow the spread of wildfires, buying wildland firefighters more time to get ahead of rapidly developing wildfires.

Fuel breaks are critical buffers to protect infrastructure such as homes, roads and powerlines. When weather allows, fuel breaks can serve as an effective drop zone for aerial fire retardants. They are also a safe place for firefighters to navigate the landscape.

Fuel breaks have proven their efficacy in several instances, but to those of us who call Stirling City, home, one example is forever seared in our memory. In November 2018, the Camp Fire tragically burned over 150,000 acres, killed 85 people and destroyed over 18,000 structures – a harrowing reminder of how wildfire prevention measures can be the difference between life and death.

As the Camp Fire raged closer to our community, Cal Fire and volunteer firefighters quickly leveraged existing fuel breaks to connect new containment lines, further protecting our community. The U.S. Forest Service, Butte County officials and private landowners had worked together to implement fuel breaks long before the Camp Fire tragedy, and it ultimately saved our community.

Through these proactive measures and combined quick actions, a nearby elementary school, countless homes and lives were likely spared. I personally watched an enormous DC-10 plane drop retardant on the west side of our town, directly on the shaded fuel break built only a couple of years prior by the landowner.

Our neighbors in Paradise had also completed fuel breaks and a community wildland preparedness plan. Unfortunately, due to the incredibly speed of the wildfire, their community faced catastrophic loss.

One success, though, was a fuel break installed east of Paradise Lake. The fire came up from Feather River to the ridge but slowed once it reached that shaded fuel break, making it easier to stop. That fundamental fuel break is credited with saving upper Magalia and beyond.

Paradise continues to rebuild six years later, but we are all still reminded of the urgent and ongoing need for wildfire prevention measures in California. Efforts by a very capable and active Butte Fire Safe Council have helped homeowners better prepare for the possible recurrence of fire on the ridge.

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